


Forgotten First Kiss

by hullosweetpea



Series: Writing Prompt Wednesday [16]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Soulmate AU, Writing Prompt Wednesday, lifeguard AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 08:19:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7162037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hullosweetpea/pseuds/hullosweetpea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing makes new lifeguard Eric Bittle more nervous then the potential to perform CPR. What if he finds his soulmate?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forgotten First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Normally Writing Prompt Wednesday has stayed in the SPN fandom, but I decided to fandom hop and this week's Lifeguard AU became a Zimbits fic. Writing Prompt Wednesday is hosted by unforth on her Tumblr where every week a new topic is introduced with interesting prompts to work with. The prompt I chose this week: 
> 
> So, I get that this is creepy and all and I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything but when I kissed you (er, gave you CPR, I mean) I knew you were the one but you were unconscious so you don’t know and…okay this is just awkward…Imma go over there…and try not to think about you constantly. (Soulmate AU where you know who your soulmate is when you kiss them for the first time…but only for the first time, after that you’re on your own…)
> 
> Check, Please! comes from the talented work of Ngozi.

Forgotten First Kiss

 

Eric had been raised hearing about soulmates meeting. The stories had been exchanged over sweet tea on porches or at family gatherings when couples tried to one up each other on their stories. Kids played spin the bottle in the hopes that the next person they kissed would be their soulmate. Some didn’t believe in it. The pleasant buzz, the overall tingle, and overwhelming ‘yes’ of it. They said it was hokum. Malarkey. An old wives’ tale. Studies had been conducted, but there was never any conclusive data: it was only ever for the first kiss. After that, it has always been up to the kissers to figure it out for themselves. 

 

When Eric had told everyone he had gotten a summer job as a lifeguard they immediately began the CPR jokes. He brushed them off, but he was worried. What if he  _ did  _ meet his soulmate? 

 

May turned to June, which stumbled into July. 

 

Eric was tanner than he had ever been, gone through more sunscreen than he ever had in his life, and had never had to perform CPR.  They’d had a few instances where they’d had to retrieve kids that had swam out too far and one memorable instance where a small dog had gotten stuck under a dock, but other than that it had been a relatively quiet summer. Until the Fourth of July. Nothing could have prepared Eric for it. 

 

It was a hot, dry Independence Day, the kind of day that makes people flock to bodies of water. Eric had already had to kick a group out, found and return a small child to her parents, and was ready for his shift to end. He had never been so happy to end a shift that summer. He glanced across the lake one last time - what was going on out there? He ran down the beach and into the shallow end. Warm lake water lapped at his ankles and splashed his calves as he made his way to the commotion going on. A man was pulling another man up between them to the shore. “What’s going on?” 

 

“Fuck, shit. I don’t think he’s breathing-.” 

 

Eric immediately stopped listening and got the unconscious man up to the shore and flat on his back. Another lifeguard was coming over, kicking up sand as they ran. “Go call 911,” he shouted once they were close. He turned his attention back to the man and shook his shoulders vigorously. No response. A little gasp rattled out of his mouth, a sickening, wet sounding noise. Eric cringed, but stood up on his knees, straightened his arms out, and started compressions. The man who had brought the other one up to the shore was saying something, but Eric was immune to it. He had this one job right now. He kept a steady beat going, keeping count in his head. He hit thirty and let off. Eric lifted his chin, pinched his nose and took a breath. He pressed his lips to the other man and felt  _ it _ . It was like a static electricity, but it wasn’t. It hit every part of him in a different way, but it felt familiar. It was conflicting. 

 

He didn’t think too much about it and continued with CPR. One more breath. Thirty compressions. Open the airway. Two breaths. Thirty compressions. Open the airway. Two breaths. He kept it up until the EMTs arrived and took over. Eric stood back and watched unfocused. That was his soulmate. It felt unnerving. Confusing. Conflicting. One of the other lifeguards guided him back up the sand. Maybe numb was the better word. He had always wanted to meet his soulmate, but he wished he would actually get to talk them and develop a relationship. Oh god, he was going to be okay, right? 

 

“Dicky, are you alright?” 

 

Eric blinked as he stepped up the porch. Everything was just jumbling together. He barely had recollection of making it home. “No, um there was a guy And, um, I had to do CPR on and he’s my soulmate.” 

 

Susanne held her arms out and Eric let his head fall on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay baby. You wanna go inside and bake some pie?” 

 

He ran a hand over his eyes. “Yeah.” 

 

-o-O-o-

 

Eric never saw the man again. He didn’t have to work a shift until two days later. One of his co-workers told him that the one with the long hair had come by to see if he was there and seemed disappointed when they told them no. By the time Eric was packing up to go to Samwell he had completely forgotten. Until he met the hockey team. 

 

He had been nervous leading up to it; it was going to be nothing like his co-ed team back home. The moment he had his skates on he relaxed. Getting on the ice with his teammates was going to be fine. “Hey kid!” Eric turned around and flinched. It was the guy from the Fourth of July. The one who had brought his soulmate up to the shore. “You’re that lifeguard, right?” 

 

Eric held his hockey stick a bit tighter. “Yes.” 

 

“Fuck man. I never thought I’d see you again.” He spun on the spot. “Hey Jack! Get your perfect ass down here.” He smiled at Eric. “Name’s Shitty by the way? You’re one of the frogs, right?” 

 

“Yes, Eric Bittle.”

 

His soulmate, Jack, skated over with a puzzled expression. “What is it Shitty?” 

 

Shitty slung his arm across Eric’s shoulders jostling him. “This is your lifesaver. Small world, huh?” 

 

Jack nodded. “You left quite a mark.” 

 

“Mark?” Eric frowned. 

 

“Yeah, huge ass bruise on his chest. Man, you almost fractured ribs. You’ve got some arms on ya.” Shitty patted his back. 

 

“Oh I am so sorry.” 

 

Jack shrugged. “Don’t be; it means you did it right.” 

 

One of the coaches blew the whistle and the other players started heading out onto the ice to start practice. 

 

-o-O-o-

 

Eric didn’t say anything about their soulmate kiss. Jack was...withdrawn. A bit hard to approach. He didn’t even think about saying anything. Then the first kegster of 2014 happened. Eric was riding on the high of getting an assist and the keg stand he did earlier. He smiled as he stumbled up the stairs of the Haus in search of Jack. He had no idea which door he would be behind, but knocking on every door until he found out sounded like a great idea. He knocked on one of the doors, but nobody answered. He shrugged and turned around to knock on the door that had been behind him. Jack opened the door, bleary eyed and tousled hair. “Bittle, what are you doing?” Eric ducked under the arm Jack was using to support himself against the door frame. He flung himself on Jack’s bed and mumbled into the mattress. The bed dipped. “Um, Bitty. I didn’t catch that.” 

 

He lifted his head and stared at him. “You’re my soulmate.” 

 

Jack shifted his weight on the bed. “Um...what?” 

 

Eric groaned as he turned over. “I feel like a creep if I tell you, and don’t feel obligated in any way, but when I kissed-CPR’ed you, the whole,” he made wild gestures with his hands, “soulmate thing happened. And like, there’s no way you felt it, but I don’t just want you to take my word for it. ‘Cause I’m the only one who can say it happened. I want ya to feel it here.” He rested a heavy hand over Jack’s heart. 

 

Jack gently lifted Eric’s hand off his chest. “Maybe we should get you to bed.” 

 

He nodded. “Bed sounds nice.” Jack threw a blanket over him and turned off the light before slipping out of the room. Eric’s thoughts grew fuzzy as snuggled into the mattress beneath him and fell asleep. 

 

-o-O-o-

 

Everything hurt. He moaned and buried his head back in his pillow. Except it wasn’t his pillow. He lifted his head and gazed around at his surroundings. He was in Jack’s room. But if he was here where was Jack? He rolled out of bed and tried to sneak down the stairs, but stumbled on one of the last steps. He flinched and froze, but nobody said anything or moved. He crept into the kitchen and relaxed. Pancakes. He could make pancakes. Eric slipped into his baking mindset and set his hands to work. He had a smile on his face by the time the first pancakes were dropped onto the hot griddle. Humming Beyonce under his breath he didn’t realize when Jack came into the kitchen. “Good morning.” 

 

Eric squeaked and dropped the spoon on to the counter. “Jack, I didn’t hear you.” 

 

“Sorry.” He opened the fridge and stuck his head inside. “So, pancakes?” 

 

“Yeah. I felt bad that you let me have your bed, so,” he gestured to the stove top. “Pancakes.” Jack didn’t say anything. Eric picked up the spoon and threw it in the sink. “Um, about last night. Are we...cool?” 

 

Jack shut the fridge door. “Of course, Bittle. I appreciate that you told me.” 

 

He left it at that, not saying anything else. Eric didn’t want to say anything, like if they were even going to try it out. Obviously if he didn’t say anything now, his chances were going to diminish as time went by. He stared at the stove top and watched the bubbles rise to the top of the pancakes. 

 

-o-O-o-

 

Jack never said anything. Eric never said anything. Nothing changed. Jack helped him with his checking issues. Eric made pie at the Haus. Nobody knew. And then the day Eric had been treading came: the day he would finally be checked. They were one game away from the Frozen Four. A lot was on the line. The play was risky to begin with and it came to a head when Eric was checked hard in the hip. Everything hurt. He made it off the rink and everything was a blur and a daze. The doctors looked him over, diagnosing him with a mild concussion, and recommended strict rest and Tylenol. 

 

By day four Eric was almost bored out of his mind. Lights still made him want to crawl under his covers, so he didn’t even dare turn on the bedroom light. He couldn’t tweet, couldn’t bake, couldn’t do much of anything. Except sleep. And take Tylenol. 

 

The knock on his door was soft; he barely heard it. “Come in.” He flinched and rubbed his forehead. 

 

Jack opened the door and slipped inside, trying to keep the hallway light out. “Are you doing okay?” 

 

“Peachy.” He winced. 

 

Jack hovered around Eric’s bed, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “The team sends their well wishes.” 

 

“Tell them thanks.” 

 

“I,” he wrung his hands. “I wanted to apologize. I never should have had you do that. I knew it was risky and-” 

 

“Jack, please. Don’t apologize. And maybe a little quieter.” 

 

“Sorry.” 

 

Eric pulled the covers up closer around him. “Don’t you have to practice with the boys?” 

 

“Yes, but I wanted to leave you with something.” 

 

Eric frowned. Then winced. “Okay.” 

 

Jack leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Eric’s cheek. “I’ve, uh, been thinking about the whole ‘soulmate’ thing for awhile, but I wasn’t sure. I had been thinking about talking to you about it, but then you got checked and I just- I wanted you to know. I want to give it a shot.” 

 

Eric grabbed Jack’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I do too.” 

 

“I’ve got to go, but I hope you get better, Bitty.” 

 

Eric smiled. “Thanks, good luck.” 

 

Jack stopped in the doorway. “I’ll see you later.” 

 

“You better. Now go on, don’t make the team wait any longer.” 

 

Jack left and Eric relaxed in his pillows. His soulmate. He wasn’t going to mess this up again. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you want to join WPW just follow unforth and be sure to stop by my Tumblr too.


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